Noises Attenuation Green Homes

Noise Attenuation, Green Building, Green Buiders, Energy-Efficient Homes, Green HousesPlease Note:This website explains green building for a climate zone comparable to North Texas or Central Texas, such as the climate of Waco or Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. It is important to hire a green builder who is an expert in energy-efficient building in your climate zone.

This website is for the climate zone that includes North Central Texas or the DFW area such as Plano, Keller, or Dallas-Fort Worth Texas. Regardless of your climate zone, the first priority for green building or energy-efficient remodeling is to hire an energy consultant and a green builder who understand and use up-to-date green building practices for your area. When building a green home, it is important to thecomfort of its inhabitants to control noise. Suggestions for controlling noisein a green home follow. Note that many of these suggestions useenergy-efficiency products or building tactics for energy-efficiency that alsoserve as sound attenuators.

Noise comes from many places. Green builders mustanticipate and control them.

Airborne sounds travel through walls orfloor/ceiling assemblies and can stem from either human activities (loud voices,amplified sound systems, animal noise) or from mechanical noise within thebuilding systems such as HVAC systems, elevators, dish or clothes washingsystems, plumbing systems, or even trash compactors.

Environmental noise is normally controlledthorough the building envelope. The most important elements of noise abatementthrough design of the envelope include:

Roofing material.

Glazing (glass thickness, double pane design etc.).

Caulking standards.

Insulation.

Doors.

Attic ventilation or lack thereof.

HVAC system.

Products are available to dampen noise. Theycontrol noise through absorption. Examples would be wall boards with soundcontrol properties, foam insulation, suspended ceilings, floor coverings,curtains, furniture, and partitions with absorptive properties.

Building a continuous barrier to trap or stop airmovement can greatly reduce airborne sound transmission. Foam insulation aroundplumbing pipes or seals around doors are examples of ways to eliminate airbornesound,. The effectiveness of this form of noise control is reduced when thereare breaks in the barriers such openings under doorways or even theinnocent-seeming in can lights and power outlets.Interior and exterior walls, ceilings, floors, all allow sound to travel betweenand through them. Green home designs such as staggering openings of windows anddoors help block noise. Other design controls are placing noisy rooms (kitchenor play room) away from quiet rooms (study and bedrooms), using buffer zones(hallways or closets) to separate noisier areas of home from quieter areas, orplacing quiet rooms further from outside noise sources such as traffic oroutdoor play areas.

Note: The opinions expressedherein are exclusively those of the writers or other participants and do not necessarily reflect theposition of CyberParent,LLC. They are not intended to take the place of advice of ahealth, legal, or other professional whose expertise you might need to seek.This website explains green building and green remodeling for a climate zonecomparable to North Central Texas or Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, It isimportant to hire a green builder and an energy consultant who are experts inenergy-efficient building in your climate zone and who use the most up-to-dategreen building information.